Large holders of XRP have quietly accumulated 1.23 billion additional tokens since January, bringing their combined balances to 12.2 billion XRP, according to the analytics firm Santiment. Despite the accumulation, XRP’s price has declined 43% from the start of 2026, highlighting a divergence between on-chain whale activity and market momentum.
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AAPLXRP whale accumulation trends
At the beginning of the year, wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP controlled 10.97 billion tokens. By early July, these addresses reached a new high of 12.27 billion before settling slightly lower at 12.2 billion, suggesting some light distribution had occurred after the accumulation peak.
During November 2025, these large holders expanded their supply by 2.4 billion XRP in a single month. The value of the newly accumulated 1.23 billion XRP sits at approximately $1.279 billion based on present market prices. If prices returned to XRP’s previous all-time high of $3.66, these holdings would have been worth nearly $4.5 billion, demonstrating the scale of whale exposure to price changes.
Accumulation slowed in late 2025, with fewer purchases recorded in December and a relatively quiet period until March 2026. A gradual buying trend resumed in spring and continued into the summer, helping the cohort notch a new holdings record in July.
However, growth in large holders’ activity has not been uniform across exchanges. On-chain analyst Darkfost flagged that transfers to Binance dropped sharply by mid-July, totaling just 25.3 million XRP for the month, a notable reduction from a peak of 583 million XRP previously seen at their most active.
Large holders reduced their transfers to Binance in July, and Darkfost emphasized that seller exhaustion had likely eased some short-term pressure, with price consolidating around $1 since June. Sustained buying would still be needed for a decisive bullish shift.
Since January, the number of wallets in the 10 million to 100 million XRP group rose from 301 at the start of the year to 322 by early July, before slipping back down to 313. This remains below the all-time high of 351 but indicates some renewed interest among large investors.
Shifting dynamics among whale groups
Not all large holders have taken the same approach to the recent price environment. Wallets containing 100 million to 1 billion XRP reduced their holdings from 8.43 billion at the start of 2026 to 8.13 billion currently, distributing about 300 million XRP over the year. In contrast, investors with 1 million to 10 million XRP modestly increased their group total by 260 million, bringing their collective tally to 3.83 billion XRP.
Meanwhile, mid-tier investors controlling between 100,000 and 1 million XRP saw their collective balances dip by 60 million XRP to 6.37 billion, underlining a mixed picture across wallet tiers.
The differing strategies among whale groups suggest investors are positioning based on wallet size, making whale behavior a critical signal to watch as XRP seeks further price recovery.
Price outlook and market signals
XRP is currently trading above $1, yet some market analysts see potential for another decline of up to 35% in the coming months. Over the past month, XRP has fallen by only about 6%, although it remains up 10% compared to other leading altcoins. Ethereum and BNB posted gains of 10% and 5%, respectively.
The recent accumulation by large holders suggests that certain investors are preparing for a long-term play, though persistent market demand remains essential. Wide swings in whale transfers and holdings continue to shape short-term price direction, and market monitoring tools now play a greater role for both institutions and individual traders.
In view of evolving on-chain activity and the need for real-time intelligence, investors increasingly use portfolio solutions like CryptoAppsy. By offering instant price updates, custom alerts, multi-currency portfolio views, and macroeconomic data on a single screen, such platforms aim to help users spot fresh altcoin listings, filter sector-specific news, and react quickly to shifting conditions, such as changes from the Fed or sudden price movements in XRP.
